Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Bay Area's burgeoning eyes in the sky

Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern angered privacy activists late last year when he ignored their sentiment against purchasing a small unmanned aerial drone. San Jose city leaders are grappling with the potential use of drones, as is Berkeley.

Bloomberg Businessweek takes a look at the burgeoning issue in the Bay Area at a macro level. From Bloomberg:

"Berkeley and the Bay Area have a long history of political discussion, protests and debate, and there’s a real concern around the use of these drones under those circumstances, and the broader privacy issues,” said Jesse Arreguin, a Berkeley city council member who represents the downtown area near the University of California’s flagship campus.

In all cases, those in law enforcement say their desire for deploying drones is not for spying on innocent residents or to monitor political protests, but only to aid in emergency situations.

For now, there are few reasons for jurisdictions to rush the drone issue since its use is not yet approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.